The unification of South Africa 1902-1910
By: by L.M. Thompson.
Publisher: OUP
Published: 1960
Language: eng
First sentence: THE unification of South Africa was one of the last creative expressions of the age of optimism which was brought to a close by the First World War. This decisive step towards the elimination of imperial authority in South Africa, in favour of the white settlers of Afrikaner and British stocks, was considered to be justified by the hopes that the Anglo-Boer feud would disappear, that white South Africans would grow increasingly humane in their dealings with their non-white fellow countrymen, and that the Union would become a liberal democracy on the British pattern. Today it can hardly be said that those hopes have been realized. 
Most white South Africans have been actuated by racial sentiment rather than by the liberal traditions of their countries of origin. Consequently, besides being a striking example of the operation of political forces in a multi-racial society, the story of the unification of South Africa provides a salutary reminder of the limitations of human foresight.
Table of contents: title: Title Page
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